Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway invests over $560M in Barrick Gold
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shifted its investment strategy last week, selling some of its positions in banks and betting big on Barrick Gold, despite years of dismissing the precious metal.
Berkshire Hathaway bought more than 20.9 million shares, worth roughly $563 million, in Canadian gold miner Barrick Gold in the second quarter, according to 13-F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed Friday.
Shares of the gold mining company surged more than 11 percent on the discovery Monday.
The company’s stake in Barrick Gold has perplexed some financial observers. In the past, Buffet has knocked gold investments.
“If you own one ounce of gold for an eternity, you will still own one ounce at its end,” Buffett wrote in his 2011 letter to shareholders, adding that gold had “two significant shortcomings, being neither of much use nor procreative.”
The Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire sold more than a quarter of its stake in Wells Fargo, or 85.6 million shares. The insurance conglomerate also unloaded approximately 61 percent of its position in JP Morgan Chase, or 35.5 million shares.
Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.